Street or station indicator



A F. GAIDOS AND F. H. GUY.

STREET 0R STATION INDICATOR.

APPLICATION Hugo Aua.23. 19x9.

1,365,905. Patented Jamxl8, 1921.

3 SHEETS SHEET 1.

@gm QHUMI/J' FREE 1 (9%MZ%J7 A. F. GAIDOS AND F. H. GUY. STREET OR STATION INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED Aus.23. 1919.

Patented Jan. 18, 1921.

\ 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. fifty 1409494 A. F. GAIDOS AND F. H. GUY.

STREET 08 STATION INDICATOR.

APPLICATION HLED AUG-23, 1919.

1,365,905, Patented Jan. 18,1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3. I ZI v 0 it (as @SS'WMW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALONZO F. GAIDOS A D FRANK H. GUY, or RACINE, WISCONSIN.

STREET OR STATION INDICATOR.

Application filed August 23, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALoNzo F. GAIDOS and FRANK H. :GUY, citizens of the United States, and residents of Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street or Station Indicators; and we do hereby declare that the'following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof.

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in street or station indicators for use on railway vehicles to successively indicate and display the names of the various stopping points in the route of the vehicle, the present device being more particularly of that type including a pair of rollers adapted to receive a flexible web or ribbon containing the names of the various streets and stations and having means for imparting successive step movements to the ribbon or web whereby to successively display the names at a suitable sight opening during the travel of the vehicle.

It is in general the object of our invention to simplify and otherwise improve the'structure and to increase the eificiencyand reliability of operation of devices of this character.

It is more particularly our object to provide an arrangement for insuring positive and accurate step movements of'the name bearing ribbon and for insuring proper winding of the ribbon on its spools in a manner compensating in the varying diameters of the peripheries of the ribbon rolls incidental to winding and unwinding the ribbon.

A further object resides in the provision of an arrangement whereby the name hear.- ing ribbon may be most readily removed and replaced to facilitate adaptation of the indicating device for use on various routes by the substitution of ribbons having the differing sets of names for the routes.

It is still further our object to provide an arrangement including a casing wherein the name bearmg ribbon and its operating mechanism maybe disposedcompactly and in such manner that the ribbon may be viewed from both sides of the casing, so that the casing may be disposed in the center of the railway car or other vehicle.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, which will be apparent as the description proceeds, our invention resides in the novel features of construction,

Specification of Letters Patent.

and the. central Patented Jan. 18, 1921. Serial No. 319,435.

combination and arrangement of the parts as hereinafter described and defined by the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a front elevational view of an indicatormechanism embodying our invention, the door ofthe casing being removed portion of the mechanism being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a smaller front elevational view of the device with the door of the casing in a place.

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view of the pawl for procuring step movement of the name bearing ribbon.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the easilpg 0111 a plane indicated by the line 4- 1- 01 Fig. 5 is a vertical the casing on a 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6' is a detailed sectional view similar to Fig. 4, but showing a modified structure for procuring an increased step movement of the name bearing ribbon in proportion to the primary impulse.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4:, but showing another modification.

Fig. 8 is a detail section view showing the clutch connection of one of the pulleys for winding the name bearing ribbon.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, we provide a casing including top, bottom and end walls 5, 6 and 7 respectively, a rigid side wall 8 and a side wall 9 which is hinged to the top wall 5 to provide a door for the casing. Vertical bearing brackets 10 are provided in the end portions of the casing and upper sectional view through plane indicated by the line these brackets said shafts carrying spools '12 on which is wound the name bearing web or ribbon 13 of the device, said ribbon thus extending vertically through the and lower shafts '11 have their end portions journaled in a sufficientdistance to permit movement of the web therebetween. A pair of horizontally alined drive and driven shafts 15 and 16 respectively, are disposed in the casing above the sight windows, said shafts being journaled in the bearing brackets 10. These shafts carry feed rollers 17 which may be formed of rubber or other similar material to afford an effective frictional grip on the ribbon as it moves therebetween to procure a positive and accurate feeding movement of the ribbon in moving therebetween, said rollers also serving to center the ribbon for movement between the windows. A guide enlargement 18 is formed on one of the side walls below the sight windows and has its surface rounded for engagement by the ribbon.

Thus, rotative step movements of one of the shafts 15 and 16 will procure progressive feeding movements of the ribbon past the sight windows 1 t to thus expose successive street and station names, and it may at this point be stated that other matter may be exposed through the window with the street name, or that the device may be used solely for advertising purposes to display successive symbols or legends.

To procure in the present embodiment of our invention progressive feeding movements of the ribbon in either direction. intermeshing gears 19 are formed on the ends of the shafts l5 and 16, an armature carrying rock arms 20 and 21 are loosely mounted on the end of the shaft 15, electroma gnets 22 and 23 being mounted respectively above and below these arms, the arm 20, which is normally upwardly inclined being held away from its magnet by a contractile spring 24 secured to the arm and the casing while the arm 21 is held away from its magnet by gravity. movement of both arms away'from the magnet being limited by stops The gear teeth of the gear wheels of the shaft 15 have a series of ratchet teeth 26 formed thereon and each series of ratchet teeth is movable by a spring urged dog 97 slidably mounted in the corresponding armature rock arm and the inner end of each of these dogs is preferably beveled to correspond to the taper of one side of each ratchet projection 26. The dog is held against rotation in the arm bypin and slot connection 28 therewith. An expansile spring 29 is'coiled on the outer portion of each dog and. bears against a shoulder formed on the dog and against a stop plate 30 carried by the hub collar of the rock arm, each dog being provided with a head 31 at its outer end whereby the dog may be retracted to permit manual adjustment of the position of the ribbon. Inasmuch as the series of ratchet projections 26 are beveled in opposite directions successive energizations of the magnet 22 will procure feeding movements of the ribbon in one direction While suc cessive energizations of the magnet :25) will feed the ribbon in the opposite direction. Actuation of the device is thus procured by completing electric circuits sclcclivcly through the magnets, and inasmuch as these electric circuits may be completed by any one of a plu 'ality of well known in ans, such as by engagement of vehicle carried contact members with circuit closers disposed along the track way or cable way, no specilic circuit closing means is shown in the present in stance since such means does not form a material part of our invention and may be supplied in any manner from the existing art. It will thus be seen that owing to thc fact the ratchet wheels and dogs operate in opposite direction when the said dog. which is idly associated with this ratchet. will act as a means for preventing a back lash ol' the drive shaft, and hence the tendency of the ribbon to buckle when moved in either direction is overcome. The said dogs in other words perform a double function.

Proper winding and unwinding movements of the web on the spools 12 is insured by friction bolts 32 which are trained about small pulleys 32-) on the ends of the spool shafts 11 and relatively large pulleys ll on the feed roll shaft 16, the large pullcys illbeing sul istantially equal in diamctcr to thc diameter of the feed rollers 17. while the small pulleys are equal in diameter substantially to the diameter of the core port ions of the ribbon spools ll. Each of the. spools may thus be rotated to wind the ribbon thcrc on, and as the diameter of the wound ribbon is increased. the belt 32 will slip on the pulley 33 in idle movement.

An exceedingly simple and ellicicn device has thus been provided which will accurzucly indicate the various strccts or stat ions alone; the route of a railway vehicle. and the device is preferably set so that it is actuated innuediately upon leaving one street or station to display the name of the succeeding strcct or station. thus relieving the conductor or othcr person in charge. from the work of announcing the various stations. as wcll as allordingy an unmistakable clear indication in cotn i to the usual. oral announccmcin ol' lbc sla tions.

lVhile we have shown and describcd a preferred embodiment of our invculion it will be appreciated, that various changes and modification of structure may he employml to meet differing conditions of use and manufacture without departing in any manner from the spirit of our invention. For in stance modified magnet control mechanism may be employed as shown in Figs. 6 and '7' to lessen the necessary degree of movement of the armature in procurin the feeding i Inpulses for the ribbon. .l'n Fig. 6. each end of the feed roller drive shaft 15 carries a gear pinion 35 meshing with a gear 36 carried on a Til llll

lllll llli) stud shaft 37 journaled in the casing, said gear wheel 36 being provided with ratchet enlargements 26 similar to the afore described ratchet enlargements 26 and engageable by the dog of the armature rock arm 20. In Fig. 7, this rock arm 20 is eliminated and a disk 38 is loosely mounted on the shaft 15 and carries a ratchet engaging dog 31. An angle lever has its angle portion pivoted on a stud 40 below and immediately adjacent the disk 38, this angle lever constituting a relativel long arm upstanding at one side of the disk and connected by a link 41 with a peripheral portion of the disk remote from the upper end of the link arm, the link lying slightly to one side of the center of the disk. The short arm of the angle lever is connected by a pivot link 42 with an armature plate 43 slidably mounted on pins 44 upstanding from a magnet 22*. A. very slight movement of the armature plate 43 will thus procure an adequate rotative step movement of the shaft 15 to properly feed the ribbon. The disk 38 is normally urged in a reverse direction of movement of a contractile spring 45 secured thereto and to the casing wall 8.

As shown in Fig. 8 each of the ribbon winding spools 34 is provided with a recess 46 in its bearing aperture which is adapted to receive a spring urged pawl 47 slidable in a transverse bore 48 of the shaft 16 to procure rotation of the pulley with the shaft in one direction of movement and permit the pulley to be stationary in the other direction of movement of the shaft, the recesses of the pulleys being inclined in opposed directions whereby only one of the pulleys 32 is driven at one time, to procure winding of the ribbon on the respective spool shaft 11.

We claim:

1. An indicator device of the class de scribed comprising a casing, upper and lower ribbon carrying spools journaled therein, a ribbon carried by the spools and adapted to be selectively wound upon one or the other of the same, a drive shaft and a driven shaft journaled intermediate of the spools, feed rollers secured thereto and engageable with the opposite faces of the ribbon, an endless belt drive connection between the upper spool and drive shaft and between the lower spool and drive shaft, companion sets of meshed gear wheels secured to the outer ends of the drive and driven shafts respectively, oppositely inclined tooth ratchet wheels carried by the gear wheels of the drive shaft whereby the same may be rotated in selective directions and an oscillatory member loosely mounted upon each end of the drive shaft, a pawl carried by each member engageable with the ratchet teeth of the juxtaposed gear wheel and means for positively actuating each oscillatory member, whereby the drive wheel may be selectively rotated in the desired direction to impart positive feed to the pair of feed rollers and to the pair of ribbon spools.

2. An indicator device of the class described comprising a casing, upper and lower ribbon carrying spools journaled therein, a ribbon carried by the spools and adapted to be selectively wound upon one or the other of the same, a drive shaft and a driven shaft journaled intermediate of the spools, feed rollers secured thereto and engageable with the opposite faces of the ribbon, an endless belt drive connection between. the upper spool and drive shaft and between the lower spool and drive shaft, companion sets of meshed gear wheels secured to the outer ends of the drive and driven shafts respec tively, oppositely inclined tooth ratchet wheels carried by the gear wheels of the drive shaft, whereby the same may be rotated in selective directions and an oscillatory member loosely mounted upon each end of the drive shaft, a bell-crank lever mount ed in the casing in juxtaposition to each oscillatory member, the bell-crank lever being provided with a short arm and a long arm, means connecting the long arm of the bell-crank lever with the oscillatory memher, a reeiprocative armature in link connection with the short arm of each bell-crank lever and an electromagnet for actuating each armature, whereby motion is selectively imparted to the pair of feed rollers and pair of ribbon spools. I

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands at Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin.

ALONZO F. GAIDOS. FRANK H. GUY. 

